Since Sunday, The News Herald has been publishing its annual countdown of the top 10 stories of the year. These were the stories editors felt were the most important in Bay County in 2012. The series will end on Jan. 1, 2013, with the top story of the year. On that day, The News Herald also will publish the top 10 stories as ranked by our readers in an online poll. To cast your ballot, visit newsherald.com.

PANAMA CITY — The Bay Area Resource Center is continuing to look for a home.

The attempt to relocate the Panama City Rescue Mission from downtown to an area south of U.S. 231 off the Star Avenue corridor floundered and was put to a halt a little over a month after its announcement.

“There’s no perfect solution,” Panama City Mayor Greg Brudnicki said while announcing the location would no longer be an option. Members of the Resource Center Task Force “are going to continue to look for another site. The process is going to be a little different as far as making sure the right people are informed about everything ahead of time.”

Commissioners initially were met with applause as they unanimously approved the purchase of the $445,000, 70-acre parcel of land during the Nov. 13 meeting. The grounds would serve as the future site of a facility to provide one-stop emergency assistance for people in need of Bay County. And, with a written guarantee from the Panama City Rescue Mission to move, the property would be the new location for the Panama City homeless shelter.

Commissioner John Kady requested the city first require the written agreement of the Rescue Mission before handing over funds. Kady also required no further city involvement in the project, no recruitment outside of Bay County and a development period restriction of three years.

“We are not opposed to moving; we are opposed to it costing us to move,” the Rev. Billy Fox, Panama City Rescue Mission executive director, said in an interview with The News Herald. “Downtown is not imperative, but we do own our property. So, we aren’t going raise millions of dollars to go out and make a move.”

A lack of resources near the proposed site was the main reason for the board’s decision, Fox said.

“If [Panama City] wants to do this somewhere that is not 10 miles out of town, we are open to discussion,” Fox said. “It is outside of resources and jobs, and 80 percent of people we deal with can and will join our live-saving programs. If they are 10 miles outside of the city, they are isolated and have a long way to go. If they have something that’s closer in, we’d like to discuss it with them.”

Residents of Cherokee Heights, a community neighboring the proposed site, pushed back against the city’s plans for different reasons.

Residents expressed concerns about crime and safety for children after the announcement to introduce a homeless element into the area consisting of Tommy Smith Elementary School, Merritt Brown Middle School and the Bay County Jail.

Several residents worried about the release of inmates to the Resource Center. Sheriff Frank McKeithen and County Commissioner George Gainer had an agreement with Cherokee Heights residents before the jail annex was built inmates would not be released in the area.

The agreement with county officials eventually led Brudnicki to halt the move as he indicated the location of the Resource Center might breach the agreement.

“I did not realize that the jail had made certain stipulations or promises to the people of Cherokee Heights that people would not go through their neighborhoods,” Brudnicki said. “And we thought we could not really control that issue.”

Brudnicki said the homelessness task force, a 26-member group appointed to address issues with the homeless population and poverty epidemic in the area, would continue to search for a location. The group worked on site selection for the Resource Center, spending 15 months looking for the best possible location, considering proximity, size and cost.

“If it was easy, it would’ve been solved years ago,” Brudnicki said. “There are so many things involved that you’ve got to do obviously just to find a place to do it.”

Shortly after declining the city’s offer, Fox published on the Rescue Mission’s website “revised programs would be in place by January 2013 and the Day Shelter portion of the Homeless Resource Center would be closed (with the city overseeing the chronic homeless away from the downtown area, as they’ve desired).”

Rescue Mission directors also announced the board will increase its focus and begin an active search for a location more suitable for the Pathways Christian Recovery Ministries population and its “transitional programs.”

“The sale of the valuable downtown property would serve as the major funding resource for the move,” Fox wrote.

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